1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display panel, and more particularly, to a plasma display panel (PDP) whose scanning direction can be controlled in response to a detected operating temperature. A method for driving the PDP in response to a detected operating temperature is also disclosed.
2. Description of the Related Art
A plasma display panel is a flat panel display that displays characters or images using plasma generated by gas discharge. The plasma display panel is constructed in a manner such that more than hundreds of thousands to millions of pixels are arranged in a matrix form depending on the size of the panel. PDPs are classified as a Direct Current (DC) or an Alternating Current (AC) type based on the waveform of a driving voltage applied thereto and the structure of the display's discharge cells.
In general, an AC type plasma display panel is driven using a reset interval, an addressing interval, and a sustain interval. The reset interval erases wall charges formed by a previous sustain discharge, and initializes a state of each cell to smoothly carry out a next addressing operation. The addressing interval discriminates addressed cells in the panel from non-addressed cells and accumulates wall charges in the addressed cells. The sustain interval carries out the discharge to display an image on each addressed cell. During the sustain interval, a sustain pulse is alternately applied to a scan electrode and a sustain electrode to create the sustain discharge to display an image on the panel.
When the plasma display panel is driven, a scanning direction of a scan electrode driver is set in one direction. This generates a discharge difference depending on whether the first scanning line is located in the center or edge of the plasma display panel, or creates a discharge difference between the first scanning line and the last scanning line. Accordingly, one of two disadvantages occurs. The discharge difference either reduces a margin of the plasma display panel or generates a luminance difference between upper and lower parts of the plasma display panel, both of which adversely affect image quality.
The luminance difference between the upper and lower parts of the panel may be reduced or eliminated by scanning the PDP from the center outwards to the ends thereof. However, the discharge characteristics of a center-scanned PDP vary at a low or high operating temperature and generate an unstable discharging operation of the first scanning line. Accordingly, poor discharge occurs in scanning lines located in the center of the panel, which adversely affects image clarity and quality. A solution is needed that improves a PDP's discharge characteristics at low and high operating temperatures.